Bombay Times caught up with music maestro A R Rahman at a recent event where he spoke about the need to keep reinventing oneself, his new fashion choices, the popularity of Korean music and his daughters, Khatija and Raheema, who have stepped into the music industry.

Bidding adieu to his all-black attire, Rahman has been upping his fashion game. His latest music video saw him making an entry on the screen in shimmery silver shoes. The ace musician and composer credits his wife, Saira Banu, for his styling. He said, “She would complain a lot about my outfits and styling. So, these days, I just accept whatever she picks because it makes her happy. She has friends in New York and Los Angeles and suitcases full of clothes keep coming home (laughs!).”

The Oscar-winning composer recently worked on a project where he had to mentor other musicians. Talking about the time when he was being mentored, Rahman told us, “I have been mentored a thousand times. First, it was my Carnatic music teachers and my father (R K Shekhar). Then, there were people like Mani Ratnam and Shekhar Kapur. Also, there was Andrew Lloyd Webber (English composer), who believed that I could write music. The idea is to always keep learning. Whenever we think that we know something new, that ‘something new’ stagnates. Inquisitiveness and the constant search for knowledge are what keep you going; without that nothing exists.”

Rahman says that since he started his training in music early in his life, he had a hard time as a student in school. “I was a bad student, because I was also working when I was studying in school. I would often get scolded for my poor attendance. I would work through the night, and in the morning, I would be at the studio,” he recalled.

Rahman, who has won two Grammy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire (2008), said that the prestigious international music award is just the roof, and one should aim for the sky. Citing the example of the Korean music industry, he said, “There is this famous saying, ‘Aim for the sky and you will reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling, and you will stay on the floor.’ One should always have high aspirations and ambitions. Look at the way Koreans are spending millions on marketing their music. Today, their music is almost mainstream. Everybody is talking about BTS — the South Korean boy band! I don’t even understand that music, but it’s so popular. Now, they seem to have taken over the movies, too, what with Parasite winning big at the Oscars.”

Like his son, A R Ameen, Rahman’s daughters, Khatija and Raheema, are also musically inclined. Last year, they performed on the stage for the first time with their father at the U2 concert in Mumbai. “They are taking music more seriously now. They never expected to be on stage along with me at the U2 concert. We are a musical family, and I believe that their musical education is very important. So, after me, they can take forward what I began,” he signed off.